1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a biopsy apparatus, and, more particularly, to a biopsy apparatus having integrated fluid management.
2. Description of the Related Art
A biopsy may be performed on a patient to help in determining whether the cells in a biopsied region are cancerous. One biopsy technique used to evaluate breast tissue, for example, involves inserting a biopsy probe into the breast tissue region of interest to capture one or more tissue samples from the region. Such a biopsy technique often utilizes a vacuum to pull the tissue to be sampled into a sample notch of the biopsy probe, after which the tissue is severed and collected. One type of vacuum assisted biopsy apparatus includes a hand-held driver assembly having a vacuum source, and a disposable biopsy probe assembly configured for releasable attachment to the driver assembly. However, in the presence of the desired negative pressure generated by the vacuum source, residual biopsy biological material, e.g., blood and particulate matter, may be drawn into the vacuum path from the patient along with the tissue sample, and thus potentially contaminating the hand-held driver assembly. Also, in the event of an undesirable positive pressure arising in the vacuum path, the potential exists for a reverse flow of fluid in a direction from the hand-held driver assembly to the patient via the disposable biopsy probe assembly.